


Inside Joke

by ros3bud009



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: And Even Ratchet Gets a Laugh Outta It, Gen, Just The Team Having Some Silly Fun, Memes, Widdle Toesies, maaaaybe ratchet/op if you squint real hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 10:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16852039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ros3bud009/pseuds/ros3bud009
Summary: It had started the day that Bumblebee and Sari came back to the base howling with laughter.





	Inside Joke

**Author's Note:**

> This probably should have gone with my tumblr exclusive collection but. I just. I have a soft spot for this boy so I had to give it its own work.
> 
> It was inspired by nonsense and the fact that I don't know how to back down from a joke challenge.

It had started the day that Bumblebee and Sari came back to the base howling with laughter. Ratchet had ignored it since it wasn’t all that uncommon an occurrence and quite frankly he preferred to stay out of their nonsense, but Bumblebee had quickly made his way over, barely managing to stifle his giggles.

“Hey, Docbot, you got a sec?”

“Depends on what you want me to do with it,” Ratchet said flatly, making sure to put just enough gravel in his voice to make the implicit threat clear.

“Bee got a little banged up!” Sari piped up. She sounded far too amused about it.

Still, Ratchet turned away from the console and asked, “What’d you do this time?”

“Just a little bump, but it still hurts, so uh, could you check it out?”

Bumblebee was grinning a scrap-eating grin and Ratchet in-vented deeply in preparation for the impending punchline.

“You gonna tell me what I’m checking?”

Bumblebee and Sari exchanged a look before Bumblebee looked up at Ratchet again, his expression overly comical as he pouted and let his optics blow out wide and innocent looking. And then he lifted his leg and braced his pede on the console, wiggling it.

“Will you check my widdle toesies, pwease?”

Sari shrieked with laughter and Bumblebee lips wobbled as he fought back his own.

Ratchet ex-vented tired as he slapped Bumblebee’s pede off the console and told him to find someone else to bother.

* * *

Ratchet hadn’t been surprised that by the end of the night Bulkhead had picked up on the joke. No doubt Bumblebee and Sari had caught him up as soon as he was inside the base. The gang of young bots was already irritating at the best of times when they got excited about some new inside joke, but this one took the oilcake. It was all nonsense words in nauseating voices and lots of putting their pedes on things or shoving them at each other and whining about ‘widdle toesies.’

Shouting at them to shut up had given him all of two seconds of peace and quiet before Bulkhead muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Sowwy” under his ventilations. The resulting roar of laughter was deafening and Bumblebee crumpled to the ground with his giggling.

So Ratchet just turned down his audio receptors and focused on upgrading the security console, grumbling to himself.

By the time Optimus was tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, nearly an hour had gone by, and it was blessedly quieter as he returned his receptors to their normal settings.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Did you need something, Optimus?”

“I was just checking in on the upgrades,” Optimus said, giving Ratchet a small sympathetic smile. “Loud night?”

“Don’t get me started,” Ratchet replied with a dismissive wave of his servo. Most of the noise from the common area was just from the television now. A look confirmed the three troublemakers were gathered around it along with Prowl who had snuck in at some point while Ratchet wasn’t paying attention. There was some conversing, but it wasn’t receptor splitting. “I’m just glad they’ve managed to wear themselves out.”

“Mind if I look at your progress?”

“Suit yourself.” Ratchet made room for the Prime, standing to one side and taking the break to turn his helm and stretch out his back. He hadn’t had a chance to go driving yet today, so maybe once he was finished he could take a night drive to stretch his struts before recharging—

“Ratchet?” The medic nearly jumped as he turned to see Prowl. He moved so damned quietly that Ratchet hadn’t noticed that he had split off from the group and come over. “I didn’t wish to interrupt while you were working, but do you have a moment now?”

“Of course. Did you need something?” Ratchet asked.

“I can leave if you want privacy,” Optimus offered as he glanced at them. But Prowl shook his helm.

“No need for that. It’s nothing personal.” Prowl’s helm tilted slightly to the side and his visor flickered. It almost looked like a flicker of humor– “I was just hoping you had time to do maintenance on my widdle toesies.”

Ratchet’s engine choked. The trio behind Prowl fell into hysterics. Prowl’s lips curled into a small smile.

And then Ratchet’s engine growled.

“I swear to Primus, if I hear one more  _fragging_  word of this nonsense, I’ll shove your ‘widdle toesies’ right up your tailpipes!” Ratchet roared, shaking his fist as Prowl made a swift retreat into the cheering and back-slapping of his peers.

He left it at that though. Truthfully, as infuriating as all the brats could be at times, it was good to see Prowl joining in with the rest for once.

So with a disgruntled huff, Ratchet turned back to the console.

Optimus was staring at him.

“I’m not apologizing for yelling,” Ratchet stated flatly, and luckily Optimus nodded.

“No, that’s fine. It’s just, well.” Optimus’s optics flicked over to the rest of the team, watching them huddled together in victory, before looking back at Ratchet. He lowered his voice and leaned in a bit as he asked, utterly seriously, “What are ‘widdle toesies’?”

Ratchet blinked at him and, from somewhere deep in his spark, something snapped.

And Ratchet snorted.

Optimus’s face twisted, looking all the more confused, asking even quieter than before, “Is it inappropriate? Should I not say ‘widdle toesies’?”

Ratchet’s face crumpled and he had to break optic-contact as a snicker slipped through his vocalizer.

There was a pause before Optimus put on his Bossbot voice, completely serious with a hint of disapproval, and asked, “Ratchet, what is so funny about ‘widdle toesies’–?”

There was nothing that could have held back the full-frame laugh as Ratchet braced his servos against his knees, shaking with it.

Eventually Ratchet managed to pull himself together and explain to the best of his knowledge, and for the next couple of days he had to ignore Bumblebee and Sari’s mission to figure out just what had had the Docbot laughing himself sick. Eventually they gave up when it became clear that Ratchet had no intensions to share. The days became weeks and the inside joke was abandoned for new ones.

But, if Optimus occasionally slipped it into their personal conversations just to trip the medic up, well. Ratchet couldn’t find it in him to complain.


End file.
